Monday, May 31, 2010

This guy is a classic. No, not in terms of being instantly recognizable as a villain but rather as a good laugh. Here's a hint: what if he were painted in flesh tones instead of metallic green?

The Poor guy!

Poor "Flasherman."

While I do welcome as many Iron Man villains to this line as possible, it's impossible to see Guardsman as a threat to an armored up Tony Stark of War Machine.For one, he looks like he'll have whomever he's fighting against collapsed in a heap from laughter (not bad for Guardsman, really). Also, he doesn't look like he's packin' much heat. Where is he hiding his weapons?

Don't think it. Don't say it. In his thong. Ok I said it. Well but I'm sure you wont let something like that stop you from heading over to check out my review at Articulated Discussion. Enjoy! :)

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Well, I finally cracked open my first DC Universe Classics Target Exclusive Public Enemies figure despite having all 6 figures across 2 waves necessary to build the Collect and Connect Brimstone figure.

I wanted so badly for this figure to be the perfect Superman because so far, none of the DCUC ones was good enough. You name it: disproportionate head-size to body, long hair, too dark a costume, poor head sculpt and paint, to even too long a cape, every figure had its woes.

So what about the Public Enemies Superman? Well, while he doesn't come close to being perfect, he's a helluva lot better than the standard DCUC Supes. And while he's come under lots of criticism by many, I have to say some of the shortcomings actually turned out to be plus-points for me. 'Different strokes for different folks' is what GrampawNannaUncle Charliemy pet dog Rexsomeone used to say to me. I think. I didn't dream of someone telling me for sure. Or maybe I did...

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I know many would beg to differ. But then they've probably never laid hands on Legacy Collection Batlle Packs: Battle for Endor Luke Skywalker before!

Why is he perfect? Well, he captures more than one look of Luke in the Return of the Jedi. Need him to rescue Han, Chewie, R2 and 3PO from Jabba's Palace? Well, he's the man. Need someone to hop on a speeder bike, chase down some Scout Troopers and take 'em out? He's there again. Need someone to surrender himself to Vader and then persuade ol' Pops to take down the Emperor? You guessed it, he's your Jedi.

I'd also like to add before I jump into the review that I'm not reviewing the Ewok with glider and the Imperial Officer that comes with this set for good reason: I won Luke loose on Ebay for about US$4.25 but lost out on the Ewok, which went for crazy money anyway. I did win the lil' furball's glider, though he cost about twice what I paid for Luke.

Well anyhow, the sets now on clearance at most major department stores here in Singapore for S$29.90, meaning it comes to slightly less than S$10 or US$7.15 per figure in the set. Neat, huh? I might just get myself a set for completion's sake. Then if I do get my hands on a Princess Leia, I could also deck her out in Luke's gear! What grand plans I always seem to have...

Oh, and one more thing: I'm doing this review because the Rangerlord made me realize that I hadn't done a non-superhero review in a while--and he's right! So this one's for you, bro. ;)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

It's also what you say in the streets if you want people to think you;re nuts.

Gotta love the ol' villainous dragon of the Marvel Universe. In this case, it's the BAF from the Exclusive Hulk Series.

I wouldn't have even thought of putting this guy together if I hadn't lucked out and bought a couple of Marvel Universe online subscription only Nick Furies that I happened to see in a department store for retail. What they were doing on sale there, I don't know. What I do know is that they cost a pretty penny and I sold them, making more than enough to deliver all the pieces I needed to form the notorious F.F.F.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Now I normally don't go for the 6 inch figures (yeah right--a look at my recent posts will totally disprove that statement), but I made an exception for these guys. Oh yeah, I forgot I do but my fair share of DC Universe Classics figures. And there were the He-Man and Skeletor MOTU Classics figures...But as far as Marvel goes, I've limited myself to Hulk figures. And only the recent desire to assemble Fin Fang Foom made me cave and get that Hulk exclusive wave. Even then, those were Hulk related characters. So this Iron Man Mark V represents my first real adventure into the 6" Marvel figure universe.

I was totally blown away with the way this guy looked in the photos, so I couldn't resist when the Rangerlord asked if I wanted to get one because he was swimming in a pile at some local department store. So thank you once again, good sir. You're once again the reason why I didn't miss out on this sweet piece of movie toy magic. So go! My review! It's at Articulated Discussion, along with almost all my other Iron Man reviews. :)

This has got to be one of the first Marvel Legends figures I got way back when I only wanted to get one Hulk, the perfect Hulk, and the Rangerlord pointed me to this 2-Pack Hulk that came with the Leader.

A few years and quite a few Hulks later, I pull out this guy and realize that he's a pretty damn good Hulk. In fact, he's probably the best damn Hulk out there sculpt-wise, articulation-wise, and maybe even paint-wise.

So put aside your Marvel Universe Hulks, your other Marvel Legends Hulks, and of course your Megos Hulk, kick back and take a gander at this review!

Monday, May 17, 2010

By now you've probably read dozens of reviews about this suit of armor, the Mark V, otherwise also referred to as the "Suit-case." Get it? Suit. Case. Suit-in-a-case....Ok never mind. (You can find one of those excellent reviews here at Articulated Discussion.)

What's important is that this particular suit has the coolest concept behind it but didn't have an instant "like" factor to it--at least that's what I gather from most netizens and people who watched the trailer when it was first released. I was of the same mind. Something about the armor bugged me. I mean, it's awesome that a suit can fold into a suitcase but something that I'd seen about it so far was off. It didn't help when this toy hit the pegs because of one or two things like the paint and the fact I didn't instantly take a liking to the armor at first.

By now, most of us have probably seen the movie. I've seen it twice already and will watch it once more at least when the DVD hits the shelves. (Yeah right, probably more like another two or three times when I first get my hands on it...heheh.)

And the more I watch the movie, the more I love it. Why? Well, the devil is in the details. The dialogue, Nick Fury, Caps' Shield, Black Widow, Justin Hammer, Mickey Rourke's bord (I mean his bird. Parrot. Really.)

The same goes for this 3.75 scale of the Suitcase Armor. When I first saw it, I was put off by the silver to red ratio and by the sloppy red paint in general. Lots of the sculpt's detail gets hidden because of the poor application. But after a few weeks and the pegs being swamped by this figure, I managed to snag one with good paint. And just like in the movie, after I had a closer look, I was suitably impressed.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

It's great to look back at the very roots of the franchise that's all flash, to the Iron Man armor before it was anything but a chance for Tony Stark to survive his failing heart.

First Appearance Iron Man will always be a fan favourite but never be the first to fly off the shelves in the toy stores. He'll be the figure that people will get but only to make up a 2 for 1 deal or if he is on clearance.

Well, it was the same for me. So when there was a 20% of sale at a local department store, I picked him up. And I haven't regretted it, not one bit.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

There's nothing more this guy loves to do than suck at the sunny, juicy taste of Superman's god-like powers. Indeed, he was one of the bad guys that keep returning to torment Superman in whichever version of the Kryptonian's universe--All-Star Superman, Kingdom Come, Red Son, the Animated Series of the 90s--you name it, he always presents a threat to Supes and is one of the few baddies who can kill the Big Blue Boy Scout out right with his powers.

Truth be told, I find the Parasite intriguing not just because of his power, but also because of his psychotic character and his avaricious appetite for sucking power and life-force out of things. In essence, he's like a rabid drig-addict and because he's tasted Kryptonian power once, he's not going to be sated by anything less.

But where the Animated Series made him look like the standard animated big-guy-in-a-costume, this version is awful scary. He looks like leech, has red gums and sharp teeth, and also has monstrously large and over-developed neck and back muscles--all the better to suck you with, Superman! *Shudder*

Since this character appeared in the now defunct DC Superheroes line which focused on Supes and Batman along with their more popular enemies, we're unlikely to see him in DC Universe Classics anytime soon I guess, because he's not that popular or (correct me if I'm wrong) hasn't featured prominently in any major story arcs recently. But there's always a chance that he might emerge as a 2-pack re-release, since we've seen many of the great sculpts from DCSH like Power Armor Luthor, Supergirl, and Man Bat make it back into the fold. But I've been waiting on this sucker (see what I did there? :P) for too long and thanks to the Rangerlord, I've managed to get him for cheap.

So how good is the Parasite at latching on and sucking popularity from the current hotness that is DCUC?

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Funny thing about Titanium Man was that I thought I had no idea who he was. And when they released pictures of this figure, I still had no idea. It wasn't until I was doing some background research on the character that I realized I knew visually who Titanium Man was--it just wasn't this modern version.

I love that they've finally come up with some villains for Iron Man and War Machine to do battle against. And Having watched the movie last week, I'm now hankering for the bare chested version of Whiplash and perhaps (potential spoiler alert!) a version of the villain in his full armor.

But whether it's Anton or Ivan Vanko or Boris Bullski, these guys are all pretty cool in design, especially when they come in this scale. How does he compare to some of his other comrades? Well, head on over to Articulated Discussion for my review!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Finally! A 3.75 inch two pack set that has two members of the same team! In this case, of course, it's the X-Men.

While I'm really happy I've got these two to now add to my Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Gambit, I'm a little sad because this is the last Wave of the Secret Wars packs, meaning that there won't be a chance for ol' Prof Egghead...er..X, to be produced. On the bright side, Prof X doesn't move around in a wheelchair in this series, so perhaps Hasbro will do him in a more "iconic" look in the main Marvel Universe line.

So yes, I picked up these two to round out my ragtag all-costumes-go X-Men. But I had other reasons too: who wouldn't want Storm with a Mohawk? And how can you no want to buy a uniquely sculpted Nightcrawler? Well, I sure did, so let's see how it turned out!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

This is it! The one armour that lots of you have been waiting for to hit the shelves, the one armour that Tony Stark perhaps uses the least, the one armour that can go toe to toe and maybe (just maybe, for a Hulk fan like myself ;P) take down the mighty Incredible Hulk!

Hulkbuster Iron Man!

I really have to thank The Rangerlord for this find--it seems everything that I've gotten ahead of most has come from him using his mutant super power of being at the right store at the right time. No matter how remote the store, no matter how obscure the location, The Rangerlord will be there!

So does the Hulkbuster measure up against his super-sized opponenets? Check it out in this review!

(I originally wrote this review for the now defunct Articulated Discussion site. I've recovered what I could from drafts and reposted it here. Enjoy! ;)

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Toys, toys, and more toys!

Welcome to my world where it's all about the hunt, about bagging the prize, the much coveted, the very sought after, chase variant toy!

Ok, ok, so it's not just about rare toys. But it is about toys--how I found them, how I got them, and how I find playing with them such a joy.

I hope you discover only happiness in the toys you find. And happy hunting for those you haven't found.

After all, it's all about the thrill of the hunt, isn't it?

Cheers!

The Chase Rating System

10- I'd give an arm and a leg (plastic or otherwise) for this figure9 - I'd take your arm and leg (non-plastic) for this figure8 - It's a keeper!7- A good toy all round, perhaps some minor flaws6 - Above average with obvious flaws5 - Poor toy. Poor you! (If you've got this)4 - Toss it in the custom bin3 - I wouldn't wish this toy on anyone but your worst enemy2- Makes small children cry1- It killed my pet dog